


time gear

by orphan_account



Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: 5+1 Things, Amnesia, Dreamsharing, Gen, Implied Relationships, Memories, Non-Chronological, Non-Linear Narrative, Prophetic Dreams, Prophetic Visions, Recovered Memories, Spoilers, [ opus 2 ], lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:00:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21852586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The soft glow of the time gears haunts you. What exactly they are you do not know; how you know them you do not know; they simply are, and that is all.
Relationships: Juptile | Grovyle & Partner Pokemon (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon), Juptile | Grovyle & Player Character (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon), Partner Pokemon & Player Character (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	time gear

i.

you drag yourself to your bed, already curling up. the mess of straw and hay is sparse, but organised as well as you can manage. it is enough to keep you warm at least for the night. maybe you would be warmer if you tucked yourself up close to cal, but ─ you can’t. you settle for the little comfort your nest-den offers to you.

sleep brings you no comfort. some old melody clicks into your mind, a series of arpeggios scaling in repetitive patterns. your body is not your own. or maybe this is not your body. you’re not sure which, only that something is wrong.

the body you find yourself in is running. rain slaps against your skin, even as you duck and weave around the obstacles before you. the legs tire and the body aches, but you do not stop running. you do not know what awaits you. it must be important. so, so important, that the thought of it glimmers heavy in your mind.

soft, pale light washes over you. you can see it, somewhere in the distance. the plant life splits apart, gnarled roots and wilted leaves alike parting to create a smooth outline of a clearing. in the centre of the clearing there is a sort of pedestal: it has strange circular markings, like that of a tablet or sigil, which surround a gear-like contraption in the centre of the clearing.

you stare at it. it calls to you. the arpeggios climb, higher, higher, higher ─ they fall down somewhere low, somewhere hopeful in your chest. you reach out for the gear in the centre of the clearing. this is important. why is it so important?

“i’ve finally found it,” breathes the voice, a voice you know, somehow, “finally…” one of the body’s arms reaches out, brushing gently over the gear. it picks it up. there is a small clicking noise. it feels… anticlimatic, somehow. like this moment should be important.

a heavy grinding fills the clearing. you look around, see a wash of gray flooding towards you. something flickers, howling in your chest. fear roars through you ─ primal fear, roaring fear, something stretching over skin. you run.

the grey does not catch you. the fear does not leave.

ii.

time has stopped in treeshroud forest. chatot presents it as some inexplicable, horrific crime. no pokémon would ever think to commit such heinous atrocities, after all. stealing a time gear is something even the most hardened criminals do not think to do.

the dewdrops do not fall from the leaves. the grass does not sway with the breeze; there is no breeze to begin with. life hangs suspended in motion, with nothing changing. not at all. the prospect should terrify you ─ you have always been terrified of a life unchanging, after all. you think that it is strangely familiar.

you think of the figure in the forest, with its frantic speed, desperate movements overtaking rational thought. you think of that figure, that fugitive. you do not see what is wrong.

iii.

uxie carefully leads you past the shimmering illusion of groudon. through a curtain of fine mist, they direct you to the small platform that peers over the lake.

the sight is breathtaking. you are not afraid to admit it; perhaps, if you did not so desperately desire answers, you would stay here forever. volbeat and illumise weave an intricate dance around the pluming water of the falls. within it, you know the time gear lies ─ its soft blue light illuminates the deep wells of the caverns.

uxie swears you to silence. you say nothing. you dare not even think it.

iv.

_ “i’m scared. this place… it once glowed with such life. the imprint of it lingers but the gears hum most of all. i am scared, grovyle ─ i ─” _

_ “...me too, old friend. i don’t know what we’re going to do once we’ve done this. oh─!” _

_ “huh. so this ‘mesprit’ used to live here? i should write it down.” _

v.

dialga howls, the screech and roar shattering like glass against your ears. you hiss, flinching away from the sound. the great beast is unfazed by anything you do and you are terrified. you are grieving. you are lonely, sad, desperate to put an end to it all.

grovyle is ─ he’s ─ you do not want to think about it. the time gears weigh heavy against your partner’s back. you hear the echo of a voice telling you that  _ you can, you can, you must.  _ inevitably, your fate will catch you.

you do not want it to catch up to you just yet. but dialga is already felled to your attacks, blood dripping from its gaping maw. you shriek, keep the beast contained. cal jumps agilely over the cracked gaps in the tower. the gears slot carefully into place.

cal says, “we did it,” collapses against your side. you tilt yourself slightly, nuzzle against your partner in that gentle relief you so often push aside. “we did it,” repeats cal. they sound so… happy. you do not want to ruin that joy.

+i.

you wish, fervent and despairing. “please, please,” you beg. you are on your knees. the soft blue glow is a threat. “i just want grovyle back.” there is no answer from that god that abandoned you. the tower is quiet.

you return and weep. mesprit lets you lurk within their home. cal is a warm shoulder to lean on. the blue-white of the time gears haunts you.

“i’m sorry i ever left you,” says grovyle. you’re not sure where he came from, or even when he arrived. but he is here now. he curls around you. cal is there, too, and ─ and ─

the tears come unbidden. so, too, does the warmth.


End file.
